“Is conspiracy a war crime? The White House urges Congress to say yes, because it makes terror convictions easier; The high court is split.” Warren Richey will have this article Monday in The Christian Science Monitor.

“NYC Subway Searches”: At the “Concurring Opinions” blog, Daniel J. Solove has a post that begins, “The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit recently upheld New York City’s program of random searches at subways.”

“In search of judicial diversity; California’s growing minority population has yet to be reflected on the court bench”: The Sacramento Bee contains this article today.

“Childproof: Why is a segregated community O.K. when kids are the ones excluded?” This article appears today in The New York Times Magazine.

Cincinnati Reds 7, Philadelphia Phillies 5 (11 innings): My son and I today attended an exciting game at which the Phillies rallied to score two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to send the game into extra frames, but the Reds proved victorious in the eleventh inning. Ryan Howard hit both his league-leading 41st home run of the season and a single with two outs to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth.

I’ll be in Cincinnati in a little under one month from now to present an oral argument before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and it will be interesting to see whether either the Phillies or the Reds will then still be in contention for the Wild Card playoff berth. You can access the box score from today’s game at this link, while wraps are here and here.

“Search Me? Google Wants to Digitize Every Book; Publishers Say Read the Fine Print First.” The Washington Post contains this article today.

“Filing targets Skilling gains; Prosecutors say ex-CEO of Enron liable for Lay’s proceeds as well”: This article appeared yesterday in The Houston Chronicle.

And The Associated Press reports that “Feds Want Skilling to Pay Nearly $183M.”

“Let Them Play: Three cheers for fantasy baseball beating the big leaguers at their own game.” The Los Angeles Times contains this editorial today.

“A Spa Day That Was Anything but Relaxing; Reinstated Suit Alleges Racial Bias in Va.”: This article appears today in The Washington Post.

My earlier coverage appears at this link.

“Seminar Program Keeps Judges in Dark on Donors; Some See Ethical Issue With Jurists Unaware Of Corporate Litigants’ Hand in Free Courses”: Lawrence Hurley will have this article Monday in The Daily Journal of California.

“Teen Terror: Are teenagers like fundamentalist terrorists?” Dahlia Lithwick has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate.

“Who will be most sorry about Demaree?” At the “Sentencing Law and Policy” blog, Doug Berman has a post that begins, “Though seemingly involving a technical ex post facto issue, the Seventh Circuit’s ruling in Demaree could (and will?) have a profound impact on post-Booker sentencing.”

“Personal Items of Unabomber Will Be Sold”: This article appears today in The New York Times.

The Sacramento Bee reported yesterday that “Unabomber possessions ordered sold; Auction proceeds will go to victims, judge says.”

And The Associated Press reports that “Judge: Unabomber Items to Be Sold Online.”

You can access Thursday’s order of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California at this link via “The Smoking Gun” web site. Additionally, that order and a related opinion also issued Thursday are available online here and here, respectively, from the court’s web site.

“Illinois Ordered to Pay in Game Ban Case”: The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “The federal judge who ruled that Illinois unconstitutionally banned the sale of violent or sexual video games to minors has another message for the state: Pay up. U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly this week ordered the state to pay more than $510,000 in legal fees to three business groups that sued over the Safe Games Illinois Act.”

“‘None of the Above’ won’t appear on ballot; Man who changed middle name to moniker to fight”: The Tennessean today contains an article that begins, “A Franklin man who legally changed his middle name to ‘None of the Above’ will have his new moniker omitted when his name appears on the ballot for Tennessee governor and U.S. Senate in November, a judge ruled Friday.”

And The Associated Press reports that “Court Nixes Man’s Middle Name for Ballot.”

You can view the candidate’s web site by clicking here.

“Appeals Court Upholds Random Police Searches of Passengers’ Bags on Subways”: This article appears today in The New York Times.

The New York Daily News reports today that “Judges OK subway searches.”

Newsday reports that “Random bag searches upheld.”

And Bloomberg News reports that “U.S. Appeals Court Upholds New York Subway Searches.”

You can access my earlier coverage at this link.

Available online from law.com: An article is headlined “‘Super Lawyers’ Still Soar in Georgia; While New Jersey restricts ‘Super’ lawyer ads, Georgia rule is not so strict.”

And the brand new installment of my “On Appeal” column is headlined “A Look Ahead to First Oral Arguments of New Supreme Court Term.”

Bob Egelko is reporting: Today in The San Francisco Chronicle, he has articles headlined “Surveillance lawsuits transferred to judge skeptical of Bush plan” and “Wastewater in pond ruled illegal.”

“Indians Once Again Challenge Redskins Name; Ruling Sought on Whether Term Is Disparaging Enough for Team to Lose Trademark”: This article will appear Saturday in The Washington Post.

“Court Tosses Suit Against James Brown”: The Associated Press provides this report. My earlier coverage appears here.

“Original Intent and the Copyright Clause: Eldred v. Ashcroft Gets it Right.” Law Professor Craig W. Dallon has this article (abstract with links for download) online at SSRN (via “Legal Theory Blog“).

“Evidence Tampered With in Wone Murder Case, Police Say; Police Comb Law Firm for Clues in Murder”: Legal Times provides this news update (free access).

In earlier coverage, The Washington Post has published articles headlined “Lawyer Killed In Stabbing At Rowhouse In Northwest” and “Killer Targeted Lawyer, Police Say; Assailant Used Butcher Knife in Rowhouse Near Dupont Circle.”

“Constitutional limits on federal power found in the Commerce Clause lead the Eleventh Circuit to overturn another child pornography conviction”: That was the title of this “How Appealing” post from March 18, 2005 reporting on a decision the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued that day.

Between then and now, the Supreme Court of the United States vacated the Eleventh Circuit’s judgment in that case and remanded the case for reconsideration in light of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Gonzalez v. Raich.

Based on Raich, today the same three-judge Eleventh Circuit reverses course and rejects the defendant’s challenges to his convictions for producing and possessing child pornography. You can access today’s ruling at this link.

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia rejects lawsuit alleging that the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 failed to become law because it was not, in fact, passed by the House and Senate in the same form, as mandated by the bicameral requirement of Article I, Sections 1 and 7 of the United States Constitution: You can access today’s ruling at this link, while the district court’s order dismissing the case is here. The basis for today’s ruling was the “enrolled bill” rule of Marshall Field & Co. v. Clark, 143 U.S. 649, 672 (1892).

“You [and each of you] do swear by Almighty God, the Searcher of all hearts, that the evidence you shall give this court [and Jury] in this issue now being tried shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth and as you shall answer to God on the last great day.” That is the traditional oath some Pennsylvania state trial courts require witnesses to take before offering testimony. More information about that oath can be found in an article headlined “Truthfully, our court oath is elaborate” published yesterday in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (via “Religion Clause“).

Three-judge Ninth Circuit panel affirms Circuit Judge Alex Kozinski‘s ruling, while he was sitting by designation on the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, that rejected a criminal defendant’s challenge to the validity of a warrant to search a computer and storage media for evidence that the defendant possessed pornographic images of children: You can access today’s ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit at this link.

“Au-Tomotive Gold, Inc. argues that, as used on its key chains and license plate covers, the logos and marks of Volkswagen and Audi are aesthetic functional elements of the product–that is, they are ‘the actual benefit that the consumer wishes to purchase’–and are thus unprotected by the trademark laws.” Incredibly, an Arizona-based federal district judge agreed with this argument, but today a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reverses in an opinion that you can access here.

Today’s opinion explains: “Accepting Auto Gold’s position would be the death knell for trademark protection. It would mean that simply because a consumer likes a trademark, or finds it aesthetically pleasing, a competitor could adopt and use the mark on its own products.”

“Seventh Circuit holds ex post facto no longer applicable to guideline changes after Booker“: The “Sentencing Law and Policy” blog provides this post about an interesting opinion that Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner issued today on behalf of a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

“Court Upholds NYC Subway Searches”: The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “A federal appeals court Friday upheld the constitutionality of the city’s random police inspections of subway riders’ bags.”

You can access today’s ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit at this link.

“Judge: Fletcher can’t be prosecuted while in office.” The Louisville Courier-Journal provides a news update that begins, “Gov. Ernie Fletcher cannot be prosecuted on political patronage charges until he is either impeached or out of office, a judge ruled Friday.”

The Lexington Herald-Leader provides a news update headlined “Judge blocks prosecution of Fletcher.”

And The Associated Press reports that “Judge Rules Ky. Gov. Can’t Be Prosecuted.”

“Unmarried couple sue Black Jack over occupancy permit denial”: The St. Louis Post-Dispatch today contains an article that begins, “An unmarried couple and their three children, who were denied an occupancy permit in Black Jack because they failed to meet the city’s definition of family, are taking their fight to court.”

And The Associated Press reports that “Unmarried Couple Sues for Housing Permit.”

A copy of the petition initiating suit in a Missouri state court can be accessed here.

“Same-sex marriage ban stays on ballot; Judge rules proposed amendment doesn’t violate ‘single-subject rule'”: The Arizona Republic contains this article today.

“IBM Wins Case Involving Pension Change”: This audio segment (RealPlayer required) appeared on today’s broadcast of NPR‘s “Morning Edition.” My earlier coverage appears here and here.

“5 judges turn down case of Dormont man”: This front page article, in which I am quoted, appears today in The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

Available online from law.com: An article reports that “2nd Circuit Revives Claims Over Bank Funds Stolen in Lawyer’s Ponzi Scheme.”

And in other news, “Teen Sues Mother for ID of Father; Child wants history of family illness; fear of ‘opening the floodgates.’”